Pancakes.

A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:12b (CSB)

Pancakes are one of the all-time best breakfast foods because you can also eat them for lunch or dinner if you so choose.  And yes, I am one of those people who loves breakfast at any time of the day or night.  When I was a freshman in college, we had a pancake breakfast with our brother dorm every Saturday morning.  The first time I met the family, I would babysit for throughout my college years, the mom Amy made pancakes for dinner.  Mom or Dad regularly made pancakes for breakfast in my growing up years.  Aunt Dee introduced the necessary ingredient – chocolate chips.  Dad still makes them at least once a week, and when I'm home for a visit, I always request them.  His buttermilk pancakes are the lightest in the world.  Recently, I discovered a Greek yogurt pancake recipe that I now make multiple times a week, because why not? 

What’s the point, though?  My dad is the one who made the connection for me.  He said, "Ash, when I make pancakes, it brings people to the table.  We sit down together and talk and laugh.  We come together as a family."  I started to see his point.  Pancakes, or any food really, has the power to bring people together.  Sharing a meal provides a chance for community and connection to grow.  We can feel just a little less alone.  

I think of the many meals I've shared with family and friends over the years.  There was one breakfast when Mom asked Dad to say grace, but he had just taken a giant bite of food.  We cried because we were laughing so hard at that one.  Then there was my birthday, almost every year, sitting around my grandparents' old dining room table and sharing a birthday cake with my great-aunt whose birthday was two days after mine.  My aunt passed away several years ago, and I still can't imagine not being able to share my birthday dinner with her.  There was the family reunion last summer, where the kitchen at the ranch was filled with each aunt, uncle, or cousin at an assigned station with the great-aunties supervising from the dining room table.  I flipped the eggs just so I could be in the midst of that atmosphere of love and fun and shared memories.  There was the lunch following a friend's wedding, where we shared a meal with her new husband and father-in-law.  There was the birthday dinner for a co-worker last week.  We sat with proper social distancing, sharing pizza and talking for hours.  We all agreed that being together in person was so much better than our daily video calls.  

What are your stories?  I don’t always remember the food, but I can easily recall the fun and love and connection I experienced when I shared a meal with the people in my world.  

Last week I was feeling particularly isolated and overwhelmed.  The world kept spinning, even when I wished I could pause the inevitable march of time.  Eating out is not possible, and meeting up with friends and family is somewhat difficult with stay-at-home and social distancing orders in place.  I was too much in my own head, and my mom conveniently reminded me that I could text my cousins and friends.  I could reach out to them.  No, it wasn't sharing a meal, but it was making an intentional effort to make connections, which is at the heart of every good meal.

And you know what?  My entire day changed after I started texting my cousins and my friends.  It was wonderful getting their responses back, but what mattered most was the fact that I made an attempt in the first place.

In Ecclesiastes, we find a verse that is often read at weddings: "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken" (4:12b).  The whole paragraph is about sharing your burdens with another person, and this final sentence summarizes the entire point.  We are stronger together. 

We are experiencing a rather unprecedented time of isolation, but there have been many times when I have isolated myself for any number of reasons.  I forget that sharing life with others is what makes life far more fun and rewarding. We don’t need to do it all alone.  Reach out to that family member or friend that you haven’t spoken to in a while.  Call the friend that you usually text.  Be intentional about making connections with others in every season you are in, not just during social distancing and stay-at-home orders.